10 Longest-Running TV Shows

Take a trip through television history to see what's been on-air for decades

You'd think that the list of the longest-running shows in U.S. television history would begin with something like Law & Order or The Simpsons, right? But those shows are mere pups compared to the following lions of the American TV landscape. Excluding soap operas and non-primetime news programming, the following shows have been the beacons for television audiences—some for over 50 years.

SportsCenter doesn't really air around the clock; it just feels that way, owing to its numerous highlights. It has added Asian, Canadian and Brazilian versions of the show in recent years, and, to paraphrase one of the many catchphrases SportsCenter has spawned, you can't stop it; you can only hope to contain it.

Regardless of its ups and downs, there's no other show, comedic or otherwise, that has so thoroughly infiltrated our collective pop-culture consciousness. And that's to say nothing of the talent that SNL chieftain Lorne Michaels has unearthed and delivered to the masses: Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and the list goes on.

Yes, it exists in Today's big shadow—but so does just about every other news/lifestyle show, morning or otherwise. While GMA started as a fluffier version of Today, it has added gravitas in recent years owing to the death of longtime movie critic Joel Siegel and cohost Robin Roberts' battle with cancer.

More than 7,000 episodes into its current incarnation, The Price Is Right has given away some $800 billion in prizes. Kudos go to longtime host Bob Barker and newbie replacement Drew Carey for keeping the show's often hysterical contestants focused on decimal-point placement in the price of just about anything.

As iconic an institution as anything that exists in sports media, this show continues to be a football fan favorite, despite ESPN's attempts to broaden its appeal by recruiting nonathletes, like Drew Carey and Miley Cyrus, for the broadcast booth.

Aired in 125 different countries and the recipient of over 100 Emmys, Sesame Street is one of the most feted shows of all time. This is likely due to its progression with the times, addressing difficult-to-explain situations like death, pregnancy and divorce over the years.

The longest-running U.S. show airing during primetime, 60 Minutes was the first newsmagazine to eschew host-centric fluff for reporter-driven investigative journalism. Yet many viewers still tune in for Andy Rooney's colorful commentaries about everyday things that irritate him.

The one show in our top 10 that no longer airs, Bandstand offered a dance-party experience for viewers at home. The banter was deliberately cheesy and the "live" performances were canned, but it still introduced more pop and rock acts to a broad audience than any other music-themed show in history.

What started out as a variety program morphed into the model for all late-night gabfests that would follow. Its current caretaker, Conan O'Brien, is only the show's fifth permanent host—fairly remarkable when you consider that it has aired somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,350 episodes.

The Today show has survived Barbara Walters' bouffant, Bryant Gumbel's infamous memo and the shocking Matt Lauer/Tom Cruise tussle over psychiatry. Luckily, the original on-air chimp mascot, J. Fred Muggs, was dropped from the lineup and the show's title was changed from The Rise and Shine Revue.